Export a Reel Without Black Bars
Black bars on a reel mean the file is not 9:16. Export a vertical frame, and do not drop a horizontal video into it.
To export a reel without black bars, the file itself has to be vertical, 9:16, filled edge to edge. Bars appear when a 16:9 timeline is dropped into a vertical post, or when a vertical clip is pillarboxed inside another vertical clip. Crop with intent. Do not add bars to "make it fit."
Set the frame before the first still
Decide 9:16 at the storyboard, not at export. A diagram drawn for a wide slide will letterbox or lose its edges. Redesign the beat for a phone, then render.
Fill the frame
If you must use a horizontal photo, crop to the subject and accept the loss of the sides. A floating widescreen in the middle of a black reel looks unfinished and shrinks the title.
Check the file, not the preview
Some apps preview-crop and then upload the original. Look at the exported file's shape before you post. If you can see bars in the file, Instagram will show bars.
A worked example
A product photo shot wide. Crop to the bottle and the hand, 9:16, title in the upper third. The unused background is gone. No black band above or below.
Before you post
- The file is vertical.
- No black band is part of the picture.
- Titles were designed for the crop, not added after.
Where Scro fits
Scro exports the reel at 9:16 from a vertical storyboard. Approve the stills in that frame so you are not cropping a surprise at the end.
Export 9:16. Finished samples are on the examples page.
Related: A Reel Hook That Is Not a Greeting.